This invention relates to the forming and cutting of three-dimensional work-pieces, incorporating inherent contours, and more particularly, to apparatus for performing such operations.
In the manufacture of certain types of three-dimensional items, for example, carpeting for use in automobiles and door interior side panels, also for use in automobiles, the item, or work-piece, is placed in a mold. The mold is mounted in a frame of some type which is moved into position adjacent a series of arranged cutting knives. The knives are arranged to make both cuts around the perimeter of the work-plate in addition to performing interior cuts so that the work-piece becomes a completed item after the cutting operation performed by the knives is finished. The use of a movable mold in which a work-piece is arranged, the use of knife positioning, and knife movement are all known in the art. See, for example, the U.S. patents to Spangler; as documented in some of the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,634,483, 4,519,766, 4,508,499, 4,471,679, 4,405,537, 4,286,490, 4,277,996, 4,273,738, 4,106,379, 4,100,844, 4,041,847, 4,014,847, 3,859,879, 3,813,978, 3,800,641, and 3,786,709, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,695, to Riley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,067 to Cesano, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,327 to Hazzard.
Manufacturing equipment employing the teachings of various of these patents is in use; however, the equipment has been found to have certain drawbacks. Among these are its cost, its size, its complexity, and its difficulty in usage. What would be advantageous is equipment which performs the cutting operations required to produce a finished item from a work-piece that is compact, relatively simple in design and construction, easy to use, requiring less manipulations, and being lesser expensive than the overly complex machinery currently available.